The New England Patriots are one of the best talent evaluators in the NFL and the team will need to do that once again as the draft approaches in two weeks, as one of their top cornerbacks was sentenced to jail time, meaning they may draft someone like Dee Milliner, Tyrann Mathieu or Desmond Trufant if they get the chance.
According to ESPN.com, Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard was sentenced to 30 days in jail on Thursday, which will start in Mark of 2014, after assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest back in April 2012. The sentence also carries two years of probation on each charge as well as 100 hours of community service that he will have to do.
The 23-year-old cornerback was facing up to six years in prison based on the charges and after the sentence he likely will not miss any of the NFL season. The incident originally occurred back in April 2012 in Lincoln Nebraska and saw Dennard be accused of hitting an officer after he was told to leave an area after a fight with another man.
It happened before the NFL draft, forcing the cornerback to slip down the board and later on both Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Nebraska coach Bo Pelini wrote letters to the judge asking for leniency. He was drafted in the seventh round by the Patriots and proved to be a solid player last year along with Aqib Talib, who the team re-signed after train for him from the Buccaneers last season.
The team may look at a number of players in the draft despite keeping Talib and Kyle Arrington and some names could be Dee Milliner, Tyrann Mathieu and Desmond Trufant, who are some of the top players in the draft. The team could trade up for Milliner if he slips , but it is more likely they will get a shot at the other two, as they are not expected to go in the top 10.
The team ranked 29th in passing yards per game allowed last season with over 270 and they will want to add depth in the secondary as the draft approaches.